BILL NUMBER: AJR 62	CHAPTERED  08/22/00

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   112
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   AUGUST 22, 2000
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   AUGUST 18, 2000
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   JUNE 29, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JUNE 22, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Honda
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Calderon, Gallegos, Longville,
Strom-Martin, Washington, and Wiggins)
   (Coauthors:  Senators Hughes and Vasconcellos)

                        MAY 3, 2000

   Assembly Joint Resolution No. 62--Relative to California Indian
tribes.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 62, Honda.  Law Enforcement Protection and Tribal Courts:
California Indian tribes.
   This measure requests the expeditious appropriation and allocation
of adequate funding for California tribal governments for the
planning, establishment, and ongoing operation of tribal law
enforcement and judicial systems in California, in order to ensure
that per capita spending for California tribes at least equals the
national average per capita funding for tribal law enforcement and
judicial systems outside of California.




   WHEREAS, Within the State of California, there are 107 federally
recognized Indian tribes, the largest number of federally recognized
Indian tribes in a single state, plus as many as 50 unacknowledged or
terminated tribes, and the second largest Native American population
in the United States; and
   WHEREAS, California Indian tribes are sovereign governments
possessing inherent powers of self-government, including broad civil
regulatory jurisdiction, and civil and criminal judicial
jurisdiction, over tribal lands, members, and activities conducted on
tribal lands; and some of this jurisdiction is exclusive of the
state, particularly where civil matters are concerned, and some is
shared or concurrent; and
   WHEREAS, Numerous studies conducted by federal, state, and private
agencies, including the September 1997 report to Congress by the
Advisory Council on California Indian Policy, have concluded that
California tribes historically, and continuing today, have been
denied their commensurate share of funding for administration and
implementation of federal Indian programs, including funding for law
enforcement and development of tribal judicial systems; and
   WHEREAS, In 1953, Congress transferred federal criminal
jurisdiction over Indian lands to California and five other states
pursuant to Public Law 83-280 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1162, and 28 U.S.C.
Sec. 1360), and thereafter ceased to provide any services or funding
for law enforcement and development of tribal judicial systems on
California Indian reservations; and
   WHEREAS, The transfer of broad federal criminal jurisdiction to
California under Public Law 83-280 did not resolve the criminal law
enforcement problems on California Indian reservations because state
and local law enforcement authorities were, and remain, inadequately
funded or prepared to address the unique and complex legal,
historical, and cultural situations that exist on California Indian
reservations; and
   WHEREAS, Notwithstanding the enactment of Public Law 83-280,
Indian tribes in other Public Law 83-280 states have continued to
receive federal funding for law enforcement and tribal courts; and
   WHEREAS, This disparate treatment and inequity in federal funding
of California tribes for law enforcement and tribal judicial systems,
which was apparently based originally on the Bureau of Indian Affair'
s restrictive and erroneous interpretation of tribal jurisdiction
under Public Law 83-280 and by the federal government's efforts
during the termination period of the 1950's and 1960's to end or
limit the provision of federal programs and services to California
Indian tribes, eventually became and remains institutionalized within
the bureau's budget allocation process; and
   WHEREAS, Due to this lack of essential funding for tribal law
enforcement and judicial systems in California, there are only three
tribal courts in California, serving less than 15 of the 107
federally recognized tribes, while most tribes in other Public Law
83-280 states operate their own judicial systems; and
   WHEREAS, Tribal courts and law enforcement in California are so
severely underfunded that it may take as high as seven times the 1995
federal allocation rates to gain parity with other areas and Indian
tribes; and
   WHEREAS, Without federal funding for tribal law enforcement and
the development and operation of tribal courts, Indians living on
reservations in California will remain victims of inadequate criminal
law enforcement and will continue to be deprived of judicial
remedies in those areas where tribal jurisdiction is exclusive, but
there is no tribal forum for dispute resolution; and
   WHEREAS, California tribes are entitled to their fair share of
federal funding for tribal law enforcement and judicial systems and
the opportunity to determine whether to establish their own such
systems, either alone or as part of consortia of tribes, or to enter
into cooperative agreements with the state and local governments for
law enforcement and judicial services; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
recognizes the inherent sovereign right of tribal governments to
develop their own judicial and related law enforcement systems and
thereby provide for the protection of their lands, culture,
resources, and the health and safety of their members and other
individuals residing within tribal jurisdiction; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully memorializes the President and the Congress of the
United States to appropriate, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to
allocate, adequate funding for California tribal governments for the
planning, establishment, and ongoing operation of tribal law
enforcement and judicial systems in California, and to ensure that
per capita spending for California tribes at least equals the
national average per capita funding for tribal law enforcement and
judicial systems outside of California; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California also
requests the President and the Congress of the United States to
ensure that the funds appropriated are provided to the California
tribal governments in a direct and expeditious manner that minimizes
federal administrative cost and bureaucratic delay; and be it further

   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each
Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the
United States.
